


What You Hold Dear

by heretothere



Category: HIStory3 - 圈套 | HIStory3: Trapped (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-30
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:13:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26737924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heretothere/pseuds/heretothere
Summary: Tang Yi knows he’s somehow changed his fate when he prevents the attempted murder of his father and a police officer, but the incident still uncovers secrets of Lao Tang’s past as well as his own, and causes his path to cross with a policeman who cares too much.
Relationships: Meng Shaofei/Tang Yi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 40





	What You Hold Dear

**Author's Note:**

> in July I rewatched Trapped to show it to friend and got reobsessed so when we were done I thought it would be fun to explore an everyone lives au. the only relationship we see in the show pre-'incident 4 years ago' is tangyi and guodongs, with a little bit said about shaofei and lizhens; it was both frustrating and fun to think about how things were with everyone else. I just wanted to imagine younger versions of ty and sf with supportive parental figures that arent dead and turned it into a whole thing.  
> been working on this for a while because ive wanted to upload big chunks
> 
> also translating honourifics to eng is hard so what I did is if they were vital enough I kept them in chinese (like the lao/ye in lao tang/tang ye), some I used an eng equiv, and some I disregarded altogether (like how unit 3 often called lizhen jie)

It was oddly cool for late August. A storm was coming in. You could tell by the clouds and the smell of the air.

Tang Yi leaned back on the side of the car. It had only been a few minutes since Lao Tang had left him by the road. He didn’t know why they were there, had only been told it was “business as usual” as they crossed over the city line. 

Lao Tang had been slow to integrate him into the upper workings of XianTing. Only recently had he been privy to more meetings and negotiations, ones where he got to talk, not just stand guard with the older and more rugged members of the gang.

He was still getting used to the constant wearing of starchy button-ups and slacks. In whatever they did, legal or not, it was all about professionalism, the image, the facade. It didn’t make the clothes any more comfortable. He hadn’t had to dress up today, despite being the only one Lao Tang brought along.

There was a game open on his phone, but he wasn’t focusing on it. 

Something felt . . . wrong.

He hadn’t seen or heard anything out of the ordinary, not out where he was by the car, but the hair on the back of his neck was standing up. He felt much too restless all of sudden.

Lao Tang hadn’t implied he might be needed to act as a getaway driver- hadn’t seemed to think there was any danger at all. Tang Yi figured it would be okay if he moved, patrolled the area while Lao Tang did business. He went down the paved path a good ways and snuck up through the woods; a structure on the edge of the compound would act as cover. 

The center of the compound was an abandoned warehouse. Off to the left of the entrance, close to the treeline, were Lao Tang and a woman he didn’t recognize. He couldn’t hear them. They were both standing casually, their voices low. The woman pulled out a folded piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to Lao Tang, who put it in his own.

He spotted movement in the corner of his eye.

Where the two were standing provided little actual protection, especially not from the man in a black hoodie slinking around the side.

Tang Yi could tell by the way he was crouched that the man had a gun.

His impulse was to yell out to Lao Tang. He held back, aware the man could still both shoot and be able to get away at such a distance. Tang Yi moved around the side of his own cover, ducking around the spindly trees, hoping to get to the man before he pulled the trigger.

He was close, so close- just a little more and he could incapacitate the man with a kick to his hands and an elbow around his neck.

He wasn’t close enough, though, when the man cocked his pistol.

Tang Yi yelled, “Hey!” loud enough to scare him, throwing off his aim as he made the first shot. The man shot again, not even actually looking in his panic.

Tang Yi didn’t dare yet check, not yet. He lunged at the man who had swerved to face him. The gun was pointed at his chest, but all he needed was one chop to the guy’s wrist to force the pistol out of his hands and grabbing and sharply bending back one of those hands to break it.

The man screamed and his knees collapsed. Tang Yi pulled him up by the front of his sweatshirt and sucker-punched him in the face. Without letting him go he finally looked to the front of the building, face hot and heart wild.

Lao Tang was laying on the ground and the woman had a bloody patch growing on her leg. Not only that, but there was _another_ gunned man in black, barely visible around the other corner. His ears were ringing and he was focused on Lao Tang. This couldn’t be happening, not like this.

He could hear the woman shouting, shouting at the other man. It might have been a name and Tang Yi might have heard the word ambulance, but he couldn’t process anything. Tang Yi stepped out of the sidelines with the first man in tow.

The second man brought up his pistol and shot him.

Tang Yi saw black.

***

Tang Yi woke to the tan walls and the large windows signature of the hospital XianTing patronized. For seconds he laid there still, mind blank. He took in a shuddery breath.

The person occupying the couch near the bed rose with a start.

“Tang Yi! Tang, sir, you’re awake!” 

Zhide.

“Do you need water?” the man rushed over to the other side of the bed and poured half a paper cup from the pitcher at Tang Yi’s side.

Tang Yi took it from him gingerly and tilted his head up. The water immediately brought a sense of relief and clarity. He tapped the button on his finger. Zhide moved away, back to the windows, when a nurse entered.

“Mister Tang, please lay all the way back. You can recline the bed,” she simultaneously pushed at his shoulder and adjusted the bed's settings.

Tang Yi had so many questions, but all of them stayed stuck in his throat. “How long have I been out?” he finally asked. 

An unbidden _three weeks_ popped into his mind. He felt sick.

Zhide answered first, “2 days, sir.”

“It’s been about 36 hours,” the nurse corrected, ignoring Zhide. “You were shot under the shoulder. It hit muscle and fractured the clavicle, but didn’t break it, and it miraculously missed anything more major.”

He looked to Zhide. Zhide had a decent enough poker-face, but, if he was anxious about sharing bad news, his features would end up scrunched-up. He was watching the nurse talk, face flat. Only then did Tang Yi believe the nurse wasn’t hiding anything about his condition.

He was still nervous about his other questions, though. He could still see Lao Tang on the ground, blood soaking his shirt and the dirt below him.

“As for your father,” the nurse started. Tang Yi whipped his head back, causing a twinge between his neck and shoulder. The nurse tsked when Tang Yi groaned and gently reset the pillow below him, “Please be mindful of your injury, Mister Tang. You’ll recover from it as long as you’re not rash.”

He nodded.

“As for your father,” she repeated, “he was stabilized about the same time you were.”

In that moment, the relief that washed over Tang Yi was indescribable.

“His surgery had to be more invasive. He was hit at a weird angle to his stomach, but he’s alive. He’ll be under for a bit longer still.”

Tang Yi sank into the bed. Lao Tang would be okay.

“Doctor Jiang will come check in on you soon, but don’t feel obligated to stay awake to wait for him. Can I help you with anything else?”

“What about the woman?” Tang Yi still didn’t know who she was, but if they were there, she should be too. She had also taken a bullet.

“She’s well. Similar to you, fractured bone, but to the leg. She’ll be out earlier, she didn’t suffer as much shock or blood loss. She’s on a different floor, so I don’t have all her details, but I figured you would ask about her.”

“Thank you,” he said.

“It seems like a higher power was looking out for you that day, Tang Yi,” she said pointedly, before leaving the room.

Tang Yi had to agree.

***

“Ah, Ayi,” a voice made him open his eyes. Jintang was leaning on the wall near the end of his bed. Zhide was nowhere to be seen. “Usually I only see you for bloody knuckles and knife wounds. You really are moving up in XianTing, aren’t you?” His voice was light and teasing. Tang Yi appreciated it.

“What’s the diagnosis, doc? Am I gonna live?”

“‘Fraid not, my boy,” he gave an exaggerated pout, “We couldn’t remove the bullet, and it will slowly poison you until you are but a husk of the man you once were.” Jintang kept the faux-serious silence for a second before laughing and Tang Yi grinned. “You’re in a surprisingly playful mood, Tang Yi, considering.”

He shrugged, even though it made the healing skin hurt, “Post-near-death-experience-adrenaline.”

“Right,” Jintang frowned for real, “What is it that happened? Miss Li hasn’t said much.”

Miss Li. The woman. Who was she? A member of another gang? Did she have reason to be wary of the personal doctor of XianTing? “Attempted assassination,” Tang Yi said, “I don’t know why, don’t know who. Don’t know how I’m still alive, to be honest.”

“Well, to warn you-” 

Zhide reentered. He gave a quick bow to Doctor Jiang, “Uh, a nurse is asking for you,” he said.

Jintang gave Tang Yi a careful part on his arm, “I’ll be back when Guodong has woken up. You’ll be the first to visit; I’ll be sure of it.” 

***

Tang Yi spent the next hour lost in his head. He reanalyzed the faces of the men who shot them over and over. The one he had caught had had a long face, but Tang Yi hadn’t gotten a great look at him between seeing the fear in his eyes and punching his face in. The other had a rounder face, was older, rougher. 

Was shooting them a threat? Did they think they had successfully killed him and Lao Tang? He believed the one crouched beside the warehouse had the intent to kill. The woman had only suffered the leg wound. Were he and Lao Tang the only targets? Was it a rival gang? Hitmen? Part of him wanted to start planning what to do with Zhide, but held his tongue, knew it was best to wait for Lao Tang to wake up first.

The door opened. 

“Excuse me-” Zhide started, but two people entered anyways, unbothered: a young man with choppy hair and a stout middle-aged man with sinking cheeks and tired eyes. Each of them had a badge hanging from their jeans’ pockets.

Both of their faces were pinched, but in different ways that Tang Yi didn’t have the time or mental capacity to take apart. 

The younger man spoke first, “We’re with the police, Special Divisions. I’m Officer Meng, this is Captain Shi.”

_He’s the captain but you’re the one talking?_

“We’re glad to see you are doing so well, Tang Yi. We’re stopping by to ask what you remember about the incident on the 20th.”

“You can give us an informal statement,” the captain took over.

“But a formal one will be requested once you’re released, possibly including speaking to a sketch artist,” Officer Meng finished.

There was no way they didn’t know who he was, not with Lao Tang in the hospital at the same time as a result of the same incident. He still wasn’t expecting to be treated with respect, even if he was the one shot and vulnerable in the hospital.

Up to now, Tang Yi had only had inconsequential interactions with police, lower-ranking underlings always taking the hit when cops would show up. 

Zhide was still standing there, lips pursed. “I think Mister Tang still needs to rest. Is it necessary to talk to him right now about this?”

“Of course it is,” Officer Meng turned full-body to Zhide, “Why would that be a problem?”

“Meng,” the captain warned, “he’s right. Li already told us he was knocked out before the perps cleared the scene.”

“I was,” Tang Yi confirmed.

“We’ll still be asking for a fuller statement, Xiao Tang,” Officer Meng said. Tang Yi’s fist clenched around the sheets at being addressed as such by this cop. “But we’ll leave for now. Keep in touch!”

Zhide rolled his eyes as they turned and left the room. He was nervous, oddly nervous. Tang Yi could see it in the twitch of his fingers.

“Why were the police in here?” he asked, “Was this Miss Li unable to be talked down from informing the cops?”

Zhide was hesitating.

“Li Zhide,” he said, “yesterday was obviously directed at Lao Tang. Are they trying to pin this on us, somehow? What do you know?”

“Li Lizhen,” he said, “the woman who was with Tang Ye, is a cop.”

***

“You do realize, Shaofei, that this isn’t to stay our case? Even though Lizhen was involved, it’s not in our district. It’s not ours.”

“We could request it though,” Shaofei pointed out, “XianTing headquarters _is_ in our territory, and it obviously concerns them. We have a lot of work on them already, it would make sense that we take it over.”

Captain Shi didn’t seem convinced, but Shaofei was not going to be satisfied just being placeholders until District 7 made decisions about conducting the investigation. Not with Lizhen in the hospital because of it. “Please Captain . . .”

“This is a conflict of interest,” but he didn’t refuse.

“Oh, Mr. Shi, fancy seeing you here!” a doctor stopped them as they passed. He made a thoughtful face, “Is Miss Li part of your unit?”

“You know this doctor?” Shaofei asked.

“We came to this hospital for some of Xiaoya’s post-op work. Dr. Jiang, right?”

The doctor smiled, "Only recently! I was still just an intern last year. Glad to see you well! How is dear Xiaoya?”

“Good. She’s well," he mumbled

“Wonderful! Glad to hear it. I'll let you two be on your way,” and he waved. Shaofei watched him down the hall but had to jog to catch up with Captain Shi who ended up meters in front of him.

Shaofei had been running on nervous energy for the last two days. The cheap coffee he had had in the waiting room hadn’t helped. The case wasn’t anything so standout: a shoot-out between rival gangs, probably. Injuries, but no deaths. In Shaofei’s eyes, it was clear cut. All they had to do was catch the culprits. And they would.

***

At some point in the evening Tang Yi must have fallen asleep. When he awoke, there was a different guard in the room with him, but he was asleep with his arms crossed on the far couch in the sitting area. It was evening, not that late, but the main light in the room was off. The door opened. Tang Yi expected a nurse making rounds.

Instead, it was another person in hospital gowns, coming in on crutches. It was the woman. When Tang Yi didn’t speak first, she said, “We haven’t been introduced properly. I’m Lizhen. I owe you a grand thanks for the other day.”

Tang Yi nodded, mouth dry, unsure of what was going on.

She looked around the room and at the still sleeping guard before moving to the couch by the bed. “I hope you don’t mind,” she said while she sat, “I’m supposed to put as little weight on this as possible right now.”

“Of course,” Tang Yi said formally.

“I never knew that Guodong had a son,” she looked at him critically.

Tang Yi felt a little indignant, but still didn’t know what to say.

“Tang Yi, is it? I wanted to know what you remember from 2 days ago.”

We’re they checking stories? Tang Yi wanted to ask her the same. 

“What I saw,” she said, “heard, I should say, were the two bullets, one hitting me,” she motioned down to her leg in a cast, “and the other hitting Guodong. He wasn’t immediately unconscious, but was when . . . by the time the other man appeared on our side. When you made yourself known, he shot you, and you were knocked out. The man you had dropped to the ground and had time to disappear. I didn’t get a good look at him.”

“What about the other man, the one who shot me? Did he also just leave?”

“Yes,” she said quickly, “odd, I know, but yes. I was able to call the ambulance. I got out the most unscathed, as you see.”

Tang Yi nodded, lips drawn into a line.

“As for you?”

“I was surveilling the area. When I walked around from the other side of the hill, I saw a man in a hood with a gun, and I managed to distract him from doing as much damage as he probably intended.”

“Did you catch his face?”

“I broke his hand and punched him in the face. I could probably recognize him if I saw him again simply because his face will still be a bruised wreck. I don't remember all that well.” That was a little bit of a lie. He remembered enough that if he saw that man again, he would know. And he would end him. 

“You know the police will be asking you about them later. Hair colour, height, anything?”

“I’m loathe to say much at all. I’m sure you understand why, Officer Li.” He wouldn’t be looked kindly at disposing of rivals through the police. That wasn’t how they did it. “ And why were you meeting with Lao Tang? I’m sure you’re also going to experience some difficult questions.”

She nodded slowly and looked away. “Your question is quite simple, actually. Guodong is legitimizing the gang. I’m simply someone helping him out.”

Tang Yi couldn’t help but snort.

“I have another favour to ask of you, Tang Yi,” Lizhen looked at her hands. She carefully considered her options, like what she was about to say pained her, “The first one, whether you don’t actually know what he looked like or if you do, you can describe in as much detail as you’d like. But, as for the second, the one who shot you, refrain from saying too much, if you would.”

“What do you mean, Officer Li?”

“You already said you didn’t want to say much anyway. It’s not much to ask,” she lifted herself up and left the room. Slow enough that Tang Yi could have said something else, but he doubted she would respond.

***

Tang Yi wanted to get out of the hospital. The incident was still playing out in his mind. Lizhen - _Officer Li_ , the two men with guns, Lao Tang on the ground, and himself fainting from one bullet. He wasn’t going to be able to figure anything out on his own. He was impatient. He hadn’t heard anything about Lao Tang since the day before, and it was already late afternoon. As more and more time passed, he felt more and more anxious.

Jintang checked in on him before dinner. “You’ll be happy to hear,” he clapped his hands, “Tang Ye can take visitors now.” Tang Yi was convinced into a wheelchair (“I know your legs are fine, it’s a _precaution_.”) and was pushed down the hall. Jintang knocked on the door of the second to last room before entering.

“It’s a boy! Congratulations, Tang Guodong!”

Lao Tang was laying back in the hospital bed, gaunter than he had been however many days ago. He smiled when he saw Tang Yi. Tang Yi tried to push the wheels himself, but Jintang took a leisurely pace and set him by the bed. 

“I’ll let you two chat, you can ring for me when you want to go back to your room,” he patted Tang Yi’s back.

“Lao Tang,” Tang Yi took Tang Guodong’s hand when Dr. Jiang had left, “how are you? Are you in pain?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine, you know they take good care of us here.” This was true, as a hospital they specifically invested in. Other large gangs wouldn't even send members there.

“What happened, Lao Tang?”

“I was hoping you could tell me. I was out before much happened at all, as I heard you know.”

“I just . . .” Tang Yi sighed, having to go through this again, but maybe Lao Tang could shed some light on the _why_. “Something hadn’t seemed right, while I was waiting, so I left the car. I found someone ready to make a hit from beside the warehouse. It was him who shot you, and shot the woman. I got him under control, but then another man shot me, and then both of them escaped.”

“Did you recognize them?”

Tang Yi shook his head. “They didn’t have masks, though. I would remember them if I saw them.”

“Working together?”

“Can’t say, but I think so.”

Tang Guodong nodded, in thought.

“Lao Tang . . . do you know who they might have been?”

“I have some suspicions, yes. But,” he emphasized, “I don’t want you or anyone else to seek vengeance before I know for sure.”

“What were they after?”

“What are they ever after, Xiao Tang, in this line of work?”

“Lao Tang,” he pleaded, “does it have to do with who you were with?”

Lao Tang didn’t answer him immediately.

“Who is Li Lizhen?”

“Lizhen is,” he sighed, “an old friend.”

“The police want me to make a statement. They’ll want one from you too.”

The frown lines on Lao Tang’s forehead deepened, “I see.”

***

Tang Yi left Tang Guodong with few questions answered and few worries quelled, but both of them were alive. Just seeing Lao Tang in the hospital bed, awake and cognizant, allowed Tang Yi to sleep peacefully.

After a week, Tang Yi was released from the hospital with instructions to take it easy and not put any strain on his shoulders. Lao Tang still had to stay a couple more days and continue improving before he would be discharged.

Zhide had been skittish since Tang Yi had woken from the shock and anesthesia, but Tang Yi couldn’t blame him. 

Since preventing the gunman from fully talking out Lao Tang and Lizhen, he hadn’t actually felt relieved, not really. He felt like his stomach was in his throat, felt like he was floating in limbo, as though that one day could have altered everything he knew and that could be.

He was unsettled.

The next morning, Zhide came into his room to push him to get ready. Tang Yi had to show at the police station within the hour. He was tempted to be fashionably late.

“You don’t want to look too fancy or too street. Either of those and you’ll be judged even harsher,” Zhide chided as he watched Tang Yi pick out clothes. Tang Yi was close to forcing him out. He was on edge enough on his own, he didn’t need Zhide, who was usually calm and collected, to be like this as well.

Tang Yi wanted to argue when he said, “I’ll come with,” in the foyer, but he already had the keys in his hand. “I’ll drive you at least.”

***

“He’s here,” he heard someone attempt a whisper. It made him stand up straighter, pull his shoulders back.

A couple of the officers with desks near the entrance were staring at him. 

“Azhi must be really sick,” he heard another officer say, one with a desk further in. “Did he say what was wrong? Has he gone to see a doctor yet?”

“Be quiet,” Officer Meng hit the man lightly on the head while passing by. “This way, please, Mr. Tang.”

The officer led him to an interrogation room. Tang Yi had only been in one once or twice before, but not at this station. They all looked the same though, the difference here was the attitude of the interviewing officer. 

Officer Meng hadn’t said more than 10 sentences to him, but Tang Yi knew he wasn’t liked. This man thought he was better than him, on the side of right while Tang Yi was in the wrong. The kind that thought he could get something incriminating to Tang Yi or Guodong or XianTing, not just on the people who had shot them. Presumptive, Tang Yi could tell at a glance.

A chair was pulled out for him and the officer walked around the table to sit in the other one. Tang Yi slowly moved into the room and sat down.

“I’m going to record this conversation. This point forward will be part of your statement,” Officer Meng pressed a button on the tape recorder, “First, please tell us what you remember about August 20th, 2014, please share anything you believe to be relevant to the event. Then I will ask some follow-up questions.”

Tang Yi nodded once, “I had just ridden with my father that day. I didn’t know why we were there, and I had just been waiting by the car. Something had seemed odd, so I went up the other side to make sure everything was fine.”

“What made you feel that way?” So much for waiting for the end.

“I don’t have anything specific to tell you, unfortunately.”

Officer Meng already had five bullet points on his notepad.

“Can I continue?” The officer nodded. “I saw a man with a gun, obviously intending to shoot at Officer Li and Lao- my father.”

“Can you describe the assailant?” the officer tapped the pencil on the table. It was distracting.

Tang Yi gave the basics - the black hoodie, dark hair, the man’s approximate height. He refrained from saying that he landed a heavy punch to the man’s face, apprehensive of saying so in a police station. He said he saw the other shooter, but at too much of a distance and too little time to process his appearance.

It was an ultimately simple statement. Honestly, Tang Yi didn’t understand why he had had to come here. Officer Meng continued to tap his pencil and let the tape run even as Tang Yi had gone silent.

“Do you know why?”

“Why? As in why we were shot? Your guess is as good as mine, officer.”

***

He was jumped as soon as he entered the house. 

Hongye’s arms were around his shoulders and her face was pressed to his sternum. He brought up an arm and patter her back.

“Hongye,” he said calmly, “You’re back.”

“Careful,” Daoyi said from his side, eyeing Tang Yi.

“I wanted to pick you up from the hospital,” she looked up and pouted, “Buy Uncle Daoyi said you would be out before we could make it back.”

“So you haven’t visited Lao Tang yet?”

“No,” her frown deepened.

He patted her arm, “It’s late, but I can ask Jintang if we can come in?”

His sister looked up at Daoyi. He looked at Tang Yi in turn, silently begging him to decide.

“I’ll cook dinner now, and we can go in the morning,” Tang Yi said.

Hongye smiled, bright, “I haven’t had your cooking in so long!”

“How were Hong Kong’s restaurants?”

“Miss still has a preference for cheap takeout,” Daoyi commented.

Tang Yi gave her an exaggerated, disappointed frown before leading her into the kitchen. “I’m still not quite as good as Lao Tang, of course, but I’m sure I can make something delicious.”

He had been tense all day, but having his sister back in the house made him relax, just a little. The visit to the police station had put him in a bad mood. All of Officer Meng’s questions had either been too vague or too specific, leaving Tang Yi and himself in turn. The rest of the day he had been talking to faction leaders, getting their input about the incident and about the coming weeks. 

Tiresome.

The next few days he had to fill in for the leading role of XianTing. He was stuck in meetings and directing the menial tasks of lower gang members as well as those at the office. Daoyi was working overtime, splitting attention between him and Hongye. At night, he cooked for Hongye (and Daoyi, though he would initially refuse when Tang Yi would call for him to come eat) and got texts from Jintang about Lao’s Tang’s progress.

Tang Yi tried asking around, as subtly as he could, for any information on the attempted hit, but no one had anything noteworthy to tell him.

One evening, Hongye knocked on his door.

He opened it for her to enter, “Is something the matter?” 

“I should be asking you that. You were the one who was shot,” she bounced onto his bed. “I swear, your mattress is more comfortable than mine.”

“We can trade rooms, if you’d like.”

“Maybe later, but really Tang Yi, are you okay? You said you were, but,” she shrugged, “I don’t really believe you. You haven’t really said much at all.”

“I’ve just had a lot of my mind,” he took a seat beside her, threw an arm over her shoulders, “but thank you for caring.”

“You’re still not talking,” Hongye pouted at him, leaning in and looking up, “You don’t think you can talk to me about the gang side of XianTing?”

“It’s not that, I just don’t want you to be worried.”

“Too late, brother.”

He puffed up his chest, “You think I can’t handle a single gunshot?” Hongye snorted, “I’m fine, really. I’m just worried about Lao Tang and annoyed at having to do all this paperwork myself.”

Hongye gave him an appraising look. “Sure, but you know, if you do want to talk, I can listen. We have to look out for each other, still.”

“Of course,” he leaned into her side.

***

Lizhen had only been in the hospital for four days, and she had been eager to get out and back on her feet. Shaofei understood Captain Shi’s chagrined face at being unable to convince Lizhen to take it easy, but he also understood Lizhen and her need to work.

He figured he would probably be the same. 

She was back in the office a mere couple of days after being discharged, and had been told she would be regulated to office-based work for at least a month. When she came in the first day she was greeted by much concern not just from within their unit but from everyone in the station. She had taken it gracefully, as she did everything, but she had never been a fan of having too much attention on herself.

The case stayed up in the air. District 7 had granted it to them without much fanfare, having no qualms about passing a mob case over. Lizhen wasn’t on it, which the only rule Captain Shi made when they were given the files. The more that time passed, the less likely it was to get solved. They hadn’t made much progress at all.

At the site, any tracks that were left were muddled by the rain that had come in as soon as the ambulance and following police had shown up. There were the bare traces of a motorbike, but like the footprints, the tracks didn’t get any specifics away. Lizhen’s reason for being there was to have a talk with Tang Guodong about the progress of legitimizing his gang. 

That XianTing had such intentions had been cycling for years, but Shaofei wasn’t sure he believed it. It had been an unofficial meeting, as some things with mobs had to be, and she hadn’t told anyone else about it. She had little to say about what they covered, because of how quickly they were shot after meeting. It held up, enough.

Shaofei looked through Lizhen’s recent reports like arrests and tickets and what cases she had filed, but all of them had been minor, and were deadends. As for XianTing, Shaofei was sure they had plenty of enemies, but it wasn’t like they were going to share those exact details with the police. It was the only leads they had left, but they couldn’t follow them. 

If it had just been an incident with the two XianTing members (one of whom was the _leader_ ), they wouldn’t care so much, but since Lizhen was there. Since Lizhen was _shot_. . . 

“Have you heard the rumors?” Zhaozi whispered to him over their lunch boxes.

“What?” Shaofei didn’t look up from his phone.

“About-” Zhaozi looked around to check if anyone was listening to them. He whispered even quieter, “about Lizhen.”

“What about-” Shaofei’s rising voice made Jun Wei look up at them. Shaofei waved him off. In a quiet voice he asked, “What about Lizhen?”

Zhaozi seemed to realize the problem with bringing this up while they were still at the station. He hesitated then gave another 360-degree look around. He was so bad at being subtle. “That she’s, you know, colluding with the mob.”

Shaofei scoffed. It was a mean rumor. Serious, if it got around too much, but it was absurd. Officer Li? Li Lizhen? No way. Shaofei’s heart still picked up, indignant for the older officer, “Who’s saying that?”

“I don’t know where it started, no one’s saying they really believe it, but everyone’s been saying it.”

“Don’t spread it around more, dumbass.”

“Now, I’m not saying I believe the rumors but,” his voice faded out when Shaofei looked up sharply at him. He took a deep breath, “it is odd, isn’t it? To be caught in the crossfire, no backup, talking to the leader of XianTing?”

Zhaozi shut his mouth hard enough his teeth clacked when Yuqi came to sit with them, “What are you two talking about?”

“How dumb Zhaozi is,” Shaofei said.

“Hey!”

The case didn’t close, but it wasn’t going anywhere. Even the statements of Tang Yi and Tang Guodong hadn’t had any holes that they could scrap at. Shaofei kept a copy of the incident report on his desk, and he would look at it while he was between filling forms and going on calls, but Captain’s Shi’s face grew more and more annoyed when Shaofei continued to postulate ideas.

He was even nervous to bring up his thoughts to Lizhen. She had declined added protection, but was more tired and nervous than she was before.

Shaofei had noticed she had a copy of the report on her own desk.

***

“They’re not telling us something about the case with Lizhen,” Shaofei said to Zhaozi over a late dinner in his apartment.

Zhaozi cocked an eyebrow.

“Well we know XianTing aren’t being transparent, but still, them and Lizhen.”

Zhaozi’s other eyebrow went up, surprised Shaofei was basically accusing Lizhen of withholding information.

“I’m being serious with you Zhao Lian!” Shaofei sat up, indignant, a ramen noodle still hanging from his lips. He wiped his mouth. 

Zhaozi raised his arms in surrender, “I didn’t even say anything!” 

Shaofei pointed at him with his chopsticks. Zhaozi knocked them away. “This is not me agreeing with the rumors that Lizhen is is like, betraying us, or something, but I have a hunch that there’s something more, okay? Technically everyone’s stories match up, but . . .” he stood up.

The corkboard in his kitchen was sparsely decorated with rent reminders, old receipts, and coupons. He cleaned it off and pulled out the extra tacks. Zhaozi watched with vague interest.

Shaofei turned one of the papers onto its blank back and started drawing. He drew what he understood of the scene on the hill and stuck it up. He ripped up another into smaller pieces, wrote initials on them, and marked where everyone had said they were. It was similar to what had been drawn up in the boardroom last week, but that was long erased.

He stared at his handiwork and Zhaozi stared at him, waiting for whatever big revelation Shaofei thought he was going to have. 

“Are you-”

“What if the two assailants weren’t working together?”

“Shaofei,” Zhaozi rubbed his forehead, “we don’t even have a real motive for if they _were_ working together. Now you’re saying we have to think of two?”

“Circumstantial, I know, but hear me out! They didn’t finish the job,” he pointed at the scraps of paper representing the mob boss and his son, “even if they didn’t know Tang Guodong and Tang Yi weren’t dead, Lizhen was never knocked out. She says she didn’t get a good look at either of them, but they wouldn’t have known that. You would think they would want to cover their bases.”

Zhaozi leaned forward, “Unless they hadn’t expected the other to be there.”

“Exactly!”

“Are you gonna tell the captain or?”

Shaofei leaned his back on the table next to Zhaozi and looked at his handiwork. “I don’t know. I want to, but until I have evidence or something I don’t he’ll listen to me.”

“Yeah, he’s been getting a bit fed up with you, hasn’t he?”

“I don’t understand why! Lizhen easily could have died out there! If she had been shot anywhere else who would have called for the ambulance?” He shivered.

***

Since Lao Tang’s discharge, Tang Yi went with him to all of his meetings, whether in the office, in front of faction leaders, or for most of their security team, Lao Guodong stood straight with a calm face and his usual authoritative air. It was common knowledge that he had been in the hospital, but he didn’t act like it. His face was still a little thin, but the two-weeks of recovery had made his skin the right colour. 

At home he would deflate. He didn’t speak much while Tang Yi cooked, even when Tang Yi forgot about patience and moderation in front of the stove like he had taught before. He retired early in the evening.

Jintang had said a full recovery would take at minimum five weeks, for both of them. Tang Yi still hurt, so he couldn’t imagine how Lao Tang must.

They couldn’t show weakness though, not right now.

Lao Tang was nervous. He was good at hiding it, but just as Tang Yi had learned Zhide’s ticks, of course he knew Lao Tang’s the same. In the hospital he had indicated he knew, or at least had a hunch, about what had happened on the 20th, but he hadn’t elaborated on it. Tang Yi was getting more responsibilities added to his plate, like he had wanted, but it as though Lao Tang was preparing him for something. 

“Tang Ye penciled you in to talk to the suit company investors.”

“When?”

“One o’clock.”

It was already twelve-thirty.

Tang Yi sighed and took the lunch box and coffee cup from Zhide gratefully.

Lao Tang continued to hide behind how busy they were.

“I wish you would talk to me about the incident,” Tang Yi finally said one evening, after they had just finished cleaning up after dinner. Hongye had already disappeared to her room, leaving the two alone.

“Hm” Lao Tang hummed.

“Please, Lao Tang, there was obviously a hit on you. I don’t know why, but I’m worried that you do. I want to help, please let me.”

“They were after both of us, Xiao Tang,” he said. At first, Tang Yi thought he meant the two of them, but realized he meant the police officer, Li. “The man fired two shots, one for each of us, and there’s reason for someone to want both of us taken care of.”

“Who?”

“Come up for some tea,” and Lao Tang left the kitchen.

“Tang Yi had been in the master bedroom plenty of times, had had tea with Lao Tang plenty of times, but the only time it had felt this tense was when he had been in his late teens and was told about the intention to legitimize the gang, still a pipe dream in those days.

Lao Tang took his time boiling the tea, setting both of them out a cup. Tang Yi took the offered ceramic with both hands and waited as Lao Tang took a long sip.

“You’ve known for a long time about the plan to convert the gang out of illegality.”

“Of course.”

“I have reason to believe lines that we’ve cut in drug trading are continuing to be used by various members.” XianTing had not yet been able to completely shut down their involvement with drug dealing, but it had been greatly reduced from the gang’s height of power. The dissent among the ranks was significant.

That members were going behind their backs under the name of the gang . . . that was intolerable.

“The police have reason to believe that there are officers taking confiscated drugs and selling them back into circulation," a pretty bonus to the modest policeman’s salary.

It was coming together now: the isolated meeting, the lack of other guards, Li Lizhen’s presence. The police that Tang Yi had talked to hadn’t made any inference to that. She had been going off-record, but that had already been certain.

“Lizhen and I have been corresponding in order to find the problems on our respective ends. It’s fairly safe to assume that it was someone who knew that’s what we were meeting about, and wanted to punish us for such.”

“In XianTing or among the police?”

“That, we don’t know.”

“And the two men were working together? Then was it just to warn you? Li Lizhen’s injury hadn’t been as lethal, she had been able to call us the ambulance.”

Lao Tang poured himself another cup then took Tang Yi’s and did the same. Stalling. “Your deductions betray you, Ayi, in this case. They were not.”

“How do you know?”

“Lizhen told me, and I have enough faith in her to trust her word. One had other business, and fled when it turned out someone else had gotten to us first.”

“Not before he shot me.”

“No,” Lao Tang’s face morphed to something sad, “not before he did that.”

“Maybe they were the same, just not working together. It’s a good reason to target you.”

“Trust me, it was different. That business is a little more personal, I don’t want to bother you with it.”

“Lao Tang . . .”

“That’s enough for tonight. You have many questions, Xiao Tang, but right now, I don’t have all the answers. Patience is key.” He ushered Tang Yi out of his room.

***

Hongye was set to go back to Hong Kong by the end of the month. Tang Yi often met with Daoyi going over documents to get details straight. Since graduating high school, she had been given the leading role in their legitimate businesses overseas, and Daoyi, who had been Lao Tang’s right hand for as long as Tang Yi had known either of them, had been directed to be her guard and assistant.

Once this change of roles had happened, Tang Yi knew they weren’t kids anymore.

Objectively, of course, he had known, but it hadn’t really clicked. The change from high school to university had been minor, as he was still living in the Tang house and a large percentage of his courses he had taken online. When Hongye left, and Daoyi left with her, that was what broke the routine of eight years of stability.

As much as you could consider life as the heir to XianTing stable. It was more stable than his last home, at least.

Hongye was still in university. Like Tang Yi, she mostly had online courses, with the occasional one at the school’s Hong Kong campus. She had whined, but Lao Tang had been adamant they have at least a taste of the life of normal students. She had rolled her eyes but Tang Yi was thankful for the couple friends he had been able to pick up and keep from that time.

Daoyi had not only been the first XianTing member he had met, but had been the one who taught Tang Yi how to fight. Lao Tang had been hands-off in that regard, and Daoyi was the first central gang member he saw in fisticuffs. 

Tang Yi was able to take Zhide in a fight and win by the time he was 17. He had tried not to be too proud of it, since Zhide had never been one of the heavy fighters of their group.

For years Tang Yi always had bruises on his knees and often on his arms or back. He was careful enough to wear clothes that would cover him during school, aware of how it would come across if teachers saw.

Daoyi was the one to teach him how to dislocate his thumb, was the one to teach him basic stances, how to hold his hands, how to anticipate. Since being moved to full-time office duty, he looked less and less like the skilled fighter Tang Yi knew he was.

Things had changed. The times had changed.

Tang Yi still didn’t know the implications for his own future. 

Everyday Tang Yi waited patiently, as instructed, for Lao Tang to give him not just tasks, but information. The would-be assassins were still at large, or at least whoever had hired them was. He felt like he was looking over his shoulder twice as often, despite nothing yet being out of the ordinary.

Jintang told him his paranoia was probably just post-traumatic stress, as it had been the closest he had ever been to death, and the closest he had seen Tang Guodong to death. He referred him to a therapist in the system who knew proper discretion on working with them, but he slid the card into the business cards pocket of his wallet, and hadn’t looked at it since.

There was a knock at the door while Tang Yi was going to his room. He watched one of the outside guards open it from the other side with someone not in their gang.

It was Li Lizhen.

She had one hand on the door, and in the other she was holding a crutch. Her leg was still braced. Yilun, the guard who had opened the door, was half beside her, half behind her.

“Uh, this miss wanted to talk, she said she would be let in if we told Tang Ye.”

Before he could even speak, Lao Tang was already on the staircase giving his own instructions.

“You can let her in,” he nodded to Yilun. The man closed the door once Lizhen moved forward and took off her shoes.

Lao Tang reached the bottom of the steps in time to say, “Tang Yi, give Officer Li a pair of house slippers, would you. You can come up, I’ll make you some tea.” 

When Tang Yi started to follow them, Lao Tang gave him a look that said that was not what he should do. Tang Yi stopped on the third step, a little indignant that he continued to be left in the dark. 

Zhide chose that moment to come in. He stood at the foot of the staircase, looking up at Tang Yi. “I heard Li - the police officer was here.”

Tang Yi nodded once.

“Why?”

“Why do you think?”

At least Zhide didn’t cringe at Tang Yi’s short words.

“Makes you wonder why they didn’t do this before, then.”

Tang Yi glared at Zhide, who did cringe at that.

“Sorry, that was out of line.”

Tang Yi finally stepped down and walked to the kitchen. It was too late to actually cook anything, but maybe warming up some milk would distract him enough from wanting to run up the stairs and demand to be included. Zhide stood off to the side of the stove and watched Tang Yi go through the motions of turning on a burner and pouring out milk.

As tense as everyone in the central circle of the gang had been the last couple of weeks, Tang Yi appreciated the companionship.

“Do you want some?” he asked, not even looking up as he stirred the milk.

“If you’re making it, sure.”

They drank in silence.

When Tang Yi spoke again, Zhide lit up, until it was about XianTing news. “You never got back to me about our drug lines.”

Zhide deflated, “Right, I was . . . trying to get as complete information as I could. I wasn’t done yet.”

“If you have something, you can go ahead and give it to me.”

“Right,” he nodded with thinned lips. “Right now, or?”

“Right now, if you would.”

Zhide stood and put his half-finished cup in the sink. A waste. When he came back he set a manila folder in front of Tang Yi. He didn’t sit back down.

Tang Yi lazily flipped through the papers, one hand in his pocket, rubbing over the lighter from Lao Tang. 

None of it was standing out but maybe . . . maybe he could use this as enough of an excuse to butt in on the conversation upstairs. He picked up the documents and left Zhide without a word. He slowed as he walked down the hall and closer to the door. Outside, he could just barely overhear their conversation.

“I just cut ties with our big Cambodian supplier. Not everyone knows that, yet.”

Tang Yi knew it was due to happen soon, but he hadn’t known it already had.

“This really isn’t narrowing it down at all,” Li Lizhen, “Some of them had to know you were about to further your purge, so even the ones you haven’t closed off can’t be counted out.”

“I know.” Tang Yi could almost hear the motion of Lao Tang running a hand over his face. “What about your end?”

“I’m nervous, I’m sure you know. It has to be someone or someone’s high up enough they can cover their tracks.”

“Aren’t you worried about the consequences of pursuing this?”

“Of course I am, but someone has to do it. If I have to be a martyr, so be it.”

“Don’t talk like that, Lizhen.”

“This isn’t even factoring in Wenhao.”

 _Wenhao_? Tang Yi hadn’t heard that name before.

“He’s not part of this, or part of that. There’s no way.”

“The gang world still exists in prison, you can’t not know that.”

Lao Tang didn’t say anything. Tang Yi was even more confused.

“He was spooked, but I don’t think that’ll be the end of it. I don’t think he’ll come after me, but you-”

“But me.”

“Exactly.”

“He could run, too.”

“He might, but I would be careful, if I were you.”

“Neither of us is safe.”

Tang Yi chose that moment to knock.

He was left to stand there for half a minute before Lao Tang opened the door. “Ah, Tang Yi, we’re-”

“He can come in, if he’d like.”

Tang Guodong didn’t move immediately, but conceded when he saw the folder in his hands. “Is there something you need, Xiao Tang?”

He flickered his eyes between the two of them. Lizhen regarded him assessingly, but it wasn’t as condescending as the other police had been. It still didn’t make him comfortable.

“I just have, uh,” why was he stuttering? “Zhide finally gave me information about recent trades. I haven’t looked at it much, so I’m not sure if it’s helpful yet.” He handed it over but didn’t leave.

“You said you already told him, he can stay,” Lizhen’s tone left little room for argument. It confused Tang Yi. Who was this woman he had never heard of before and why could she talk to Lao Tang like that?

“Right,” Lao Tang turned back around to her. He motioned to the seat he must have been in for Tang Yi.

“What’s your plan then, Lizhen? I figure you must be trying to follow some protocol.”

She tapped her fingers on her leg. “I’d rather do something sooner than later. We could wait until they’re comfortable enough again to make mistakes, but I’d sleep better at night knowing we’ve handled this particular situation.”

“We don’t have any ins with the police, besides you, of course, all we have are the routes I’ve already told you about,” he flapped the folder Tang Yi had just given him, “even if I find the members of my gang still trading without my blessing, that won’t necessarily lead us to who we’re looking for.”

“You think my route is the best bet?”

“They should still be on edge. We put them under pressure and suss them out,” Tang Yi suggested.

“Crafty,” Lao Tang said, “Would it work?”

“We can’t just wait around like beetles on our backs. We need to set our own baits.”

“Our own traps.”

“Trap is a strong word, but yes.”

**Author's Note:**

> the fix going forward should be more action based but you know, gotta set the scene


End file.
